BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 242|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 242
Author: Monning (D)
Amended: 4/7/15
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-1, 3/25/15
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Pan, Vidak
NOES: Huff
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/21/15
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning
NOES: Stone
SUBJECT: School security: surplus military equipment
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires a school district's police
department to obtain approval from its governing board prior to
receiving federal surplus military equipment.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law authorizes, through the National
Defense Authorization Act, the Secretary of Defense to transfer
excess Department of Defense personal property that it
determines suitable for use in law enforcement activities to
federal, state, and local law enforcement jurisdictions, with
special emphasis given to counter drug and counter terrorism
(commonly referred to as the 1033 Program). The authorities
granted to the Secretary of Defense have been delegated to the
Defense Logistics Agency Law Enforcement Support Office in
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determining whether property is suitable for use by these
agencies. The Defense Logistics Agency defines law enforcement
activities as those performed by government agencies whose
primary function is the enforcement of applicable federal,
state, and local laws and whose compensated law enforcement
officers have powers of arrest and apprehension. The law
enforcement agencies must be authorized and certified annually
to participate.
Existing state law:
1)Allows the governing board of a school district to establish a
school district police department. These police departments
are fully accredited with sworn peace officers. Approximately
20 school districts in the state have established police
departments. (Education Code § 38000)
2)Provides the Governor's Office of Emergency Services implement
the 1033 Program in California and conduct management and
oversight of the program through the California Public Safety
Procurement Program. The Office of Emergency Services also
provides support and technical assistance to law enforcement
agencies participating (or interested in participating) in the
program.
This bill prohibits the governing board of a school district
that establishes a school police department from permitting the
school police department to receive federal surplus military
equipment, as specified, unless the governing board does all of
the following:
1)Votes to approve the acquisition of surplus military equipment
at a regularly scheduled public board meeting.
2)Provides parents or guardians and other members of the public
a chance to comment at a regularly scheduled public board
meeting on the proposed acquisition of surplus military
equipment, and clearly and in a manner recognizable to the
general public, identify in the agenda the topic to be
discussed at the meeting.
3)Identifies safe and secure storage for surplus military
equipment to be received by a school police department.
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4)Ensures that peace officers employed by a school police
department possess adequate training in the safe use and
handling of the surplus military equipment to be received.
Comments
Need for the bill. According to the author's office, when
school police departments receive surplus military equipment,
there is often no training provided on the proper use of the
equipment. Additionally, the weapons and supplies that are
received often occur without the approval or knowledge of the
elected school boards and with almost no inclusion or input from
community members and parents about the decision to acquire the
equipment which will be used in policing the schools. The
author's office cites the San Diego Unified School District's
(SDUSD) receipt of a 14 ton Mine Resistant and Ambush Proof
(MRAP) vehicle worth over $700,000 and the Los Angeles Unified
School District's (LAUSD) receipt of an MRAP vehicle along with
sixty-one M-16 automatic rifles and three 40mm M-79 grenade
launchers. The bill is intended to ensure community involvement
and a parental voice in decisions made by school district police
departments and require greater transparency in the acquisition
of surplus military equipment.
Public Criticism. There has been national media attention
surrounding the federal 1033 Program and the transfer of surplus
military weaponry to school police departments, including
coverage in the Fall of 2014 on the SDUSD and LAUSD. Some
questioned the appropriateness of having military-grade weapons,
such as the M-16 automatic rifles that LAUSD received (but
modified to semiautomatic), on others went on to trigger a
broader conversation of having militarized local school police
departments and how it can create or increase tension between
students and school police.
Since 1997, the 1033 Program has provided over $5.1 billion of
military equipment to thousands of local law enforcement
agencies throughout the country, including more than 120 school
district police departments that serve K-12 students.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
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SUPPORT: (Verified 4/22/15)
California State Conference of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
California Parents and Teachers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/22/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters argue that this bill seeks to
ensure community involvement and greater transparency if a
school police department elects to acquire military equipment.
In turn, this could help a school district make more informed
decisions and also prevent public outcry and concerns from the
community.
Prepared by:Lenin Del Castillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
4/24/15 16:13:11
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